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Amanda Gallimore
Science 7: March 2018
RATIONAL:
This unit is important for student’s development and understanding of the world. Heat and temperature
are a part of their everyday lives as it is important for students to understand temperature, so they will
be prepared for weather conditions. Therefore, they need to learn that there are both Celsius and
Fahrenheit scales. This knowledge is necessary when traveling to the United States, so students will be
able to associate it to the temperature in Celsius.
Expansion and Contraction are significant as they are used associated with engineering, especially in
Southern Alberta where the seasons change drastically. This forces us to account for the expansion and
contraction and their effects on roads, bridges, houses and more.
This unit also emphasizes the importance of energy efficiency and introduces some ways to create a
more resourceful society and lifestyle. For the final project of this unit, students will be researching ways
to make homes more efficient. This will not only be influential to the students but also on their families.
By educating students on these topics, they may intern be able to educate their families on efficient
practices. An example of this could be, if their water heater goes out they may talk to their families
about how they should put in a tankless water heater to save energy or put small water heaters under
each sink to reduce the energy loss.
KEY QUESTIONS:
ACTIVITIES:
Expansion and contraction: Balloon expansion experiment. (Take a balloon and stretch the opening over the top
of the empty plastic bottle. Place the bottle in a container of hot water. Placing a rock in the bottom of the bottle
will weigh it down. Wait for the bottle to heat up, as it does the air inside the bottle heats and the balloon begins
to expand. Then place in in cold water and watch the balloon deflate. Have students do a mini lab report
(hypothesis, methods and materials, procedure, results, discussion)
Changes in State: Have students work individually (or groups of 2 that are assigned) and go around to each station
and match the property with the correct type of change in state.
insulation and how you will provide your house with hot water. Students will then design their model energy
efficient home and include where they are going to put the heating system, windows, hot water tank, rooms, 5-10
other energy saving things that you would use in your house and the layout of their house. As well as which way
they will have their house facing (North, South, East or West).
ASSESSMENT PLAN:
identify positive and negative consequences of energy use, and describe examples of energy
conservation in their home or community
Understandings: Essential Questions:
Students will understand that… - What happens to material when it is heated or
Students will understand the relationship cooled?
between thermal energy and temperature - How can we reduce the amount of energy we use?
change. - What is energy?
Students will understand how energy is - How do things change state?
transferred - How do you transfer energy?
Students will understand the different
states of matter and whether energy is
absorbed or released at each.
Students will make their own house using
ways that will reduce the amount of energy
that they use.
Pre-Assessment
Brainstorming: Challenge students to brainstorm everything they already know about how heats effect on
temperature and about the different changes in state. Have each student come write their best answer on the
board. Then discuss as a class
Quizzes (of learning): There will be a quiz after each Expansion and Contraction Report (of learning): Balloon
topic, consisting of 5 key questions from the expansion experiment. (Take a balloon and stretch the
section. opening over the top of the empty plastic bottle. Place the
bottle in a container of hot water. Placing a rock in the
Change in State Matching Game (for & as bottom of the bottle will weigh it down. Wait for the bottle to
learning): The worksheets will be handed in and heat up, as it does the air inside the bottle heats and the
gone through to checking for understanding. balloon begins to expand. Students will do a mini lab report
that includes:
- hypothesis
Unit Test (of learning): At the end of the unit we - Materials
will have a test covering changes in state— - Procedure
evaporation, condensation, sublimation, melting, - Results
freezing. As well as testing the students - Discussion
understanding of thermal heat and its effects on
expanding and contraction. There will be a variety Energy Efficient House Project (of learning):
of questions, multiple choice, true and false and Students will build an energy efficient home that uses the
labelling of pictures. least amount of energy while balancing human needs for
shelter and the needs of the larger environment. This will
include students choose:
- heating system (furnace, geothermal, in floor
heating)
- windows (single pane, double pane, argon filled)
- insulation
- 5-10 other energy saving things that you would use in
your house (LED light bulbs, motion censored lights,
thermostat that turns off at a certain time, solar
panels, wind mills, etc.)
- how to provide hot water
Students will then design their model energy efficient
home and include where they are going to put the
heating system, windows, hot water tank, rooms and the
layout of their house. As well as which way they will have
their house facing (North, South, East or West).